Classic Rock Reactionaries?

I find this very hard to believe:

Male Rock Fans Likely to Vote Republican: Survey
By Sue Zeidler Wed Apr 2, 8:51 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - If you are male and a Led Zeppelin fan, chances are you may be leaning toward voting Republican in the U.S. presidential election, according to a survey of rock radio fans released on Wednesday.

The Jacobs Media's Media/Technology Web Poll IV of more than 27,000 respondents cited stronger than expected interest in the November 2008 election among fans of rock, classic rock, and alternative radio stations.

It also found that John McCain, the Republican candidate for U.S. president, was the top pick for the Oval Office for men and classic rock partisans -- those people who tune in to stations playing music from the "original classic rock era" of 1964 to 1975, comprised of bands like Led Zeppelin, The Who and Pink Floyd

I know we have a tendency to create too many microdemographics in the USA, but really WTF?

Now I'm mostly bored by "classic rock" as a music and as a formatted radio genre, but I'm also pretty confident Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend and Roger Waters are all supporting the Dems (even if none of them can vote). I know the Stones support the Dems, Paul McCartney is liberal, and obviously Bruce Springsteen is a Dem. I've read the Grateful Dead (what's left of 'em) have been campaigning for Obama, and we all know how much the Clintons love Fleetwood Mac and Elton John. Yes there are exceptions: Ted Nugent is a first rate reactionary, and Alice Cooper is reputedlty a Republican. Charlie Daniels and a few others are all very right wing. But the vast majority of the dinosaur artists still alive who are actually played on these stations are NOT voting Republican.

So maybe some pro-Obama radio advertisements are in order: broadcast over Clear Channel "classic rock" stations in red state zones and directed towards this demographic? Let's rock the vote for Obama.

•  tips

  for rocking this demographic into the blue.

  Neil Young, Green Day, Steely Dan, Sting: where are you? This should be easy.

  by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:14:35 PM PDT

  •  have you heard "let's impeach the president"

    and "Looking For A Leader"? Who do you think Neil Young is supporting?

    by fabacube on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:56:54 PM PDT

    •  yes I have

      that's why I listed him as a possible rocker to do PR for Obama. Or did you not understand what my post was about?

      by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:00:50 PM PDT

      •  I think

        he has stepped away from politics after the death threats during the CSNY tour. He is an "old rocker" at this point. Its time for the younger generation to step up, which they are doing as we speak

        by fabacube on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:06:23 PM PDT

        •  Green Day: (Don't wanna be an) American Idiot

          not really "classic" rock -  oh and jump down the dial to hip-hop/rap;
          see if they'll play this:
          Public Enemy, Paris, Ice Cube, etc.  I'd be surprised that demographic will vote McBush.  All those white suburban Gen Y-ers thumpin' down to the polls to vote Obama, boyee!

          by decitect on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:13:43 PM PDT

        •  Is Neil Young a citizen?

          Originally from Canada, I believe.

          I was listening to "Ragged Glory" yesterday and telling my 17-year-old son we should see if we can download "Over and Over Again" for Rock Band on his XBox 360.

          by HeyMikey on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:51:56 PM PDT

          •  Neil Young lives in California

            but continues to be a Canadian citizen.

            by simca on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:54:31 PM PDT

•  read the article.

  the writer has her head up her ass.  The survey results belie her "angle:"

  About 30 percent of the respondents called themselves Democrats, while nearly 22 percent described their politics as Republican and 21 percent declared they were independents.
  {...}
  The survey found women and fans of alternative radio, featuring '80s and '90s rock, tend to be Democratic, while men and classic rockers lean Republican.

  Asked about their overall presidential preference, Democrat Barack Obama led the pack with 26 percent support among those planning on voting in the November election.

  McCain ranked second with 22 percent and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton drew 18 percent.

  by nailbender on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:23:41 PM PDT

  •  I've been thinking for a while that Barack should

    go on some classic rock morning shows. I get the York station down in Baltimore, and the meatheads they have on for AM drive would be an easy softball interview.

    by slaney black on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:28:06 PM PDT

    •  Classic rock shows,

      sports radio, afternoon and late night talk shows...because that's what a lot of people are listening to and watching.  (The political shows are watched by political junkies, and I would argue that a great number of the voting public does not tune into that stuff). Candidates could help themselves by talking to the public in these other ways.  (There is something to be said for that, you bet, but it is what it is...)

      by turning blue on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:43:42 PM PDT

  •  Sounds Like

    44% democratic and 22% Republican.

    As Homer would say, "I like those odds."

    by hilltopper on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:31:58 PM PDT

•  Rock on?

  Maybe it has something to do with the CW that you have probably heard before, that people may trend to more conservative views as they get older?  

  by turning blue on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:24:55 PM PDT

•  Zxcv...

  Male Rock Fans Likely to Vote Republican: Survey

  Oh, And it makes me wonder...

  by assyrian64 on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:25:37 PM PDT

  •  Hey, can't you read the sign?

    "No Stairway."

    by simca on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:55:55 PM PDT

•  more classic rock Dems

  John Fogerty, John Mellancamp, what's left of the band Boston...those are the ones right off the top of my head.  Plus you've got other artists like Steve Earle who definitely appeal to classic rockers even though they're not in the AC-DC/Pink Floyd/Zeppelin/Stones/Who/etc. pantheon.

  This reminds me of the "NASCAR Dad" and "soccer mom" demographic splits.  I don't have access to any of my work-related data (I'm a part time DJ for a classic rock radio station and a manager for a younger-skewing rock station) but part of the GOP draw for that demo  is probably money-driven (the 35-54 demo that classic rock skews towards is arguably the biggest money demo) and part ideologically driven...the guys who yell "FREEBIRD" even when they're not at a Lynyrd Skynyrd show likely aren't going to be voting Democratic even though they should.

  by kineticdissent on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:25:48 PM PDT

  •  Freebird

    the guys who yell "FREEBIRD" even when they're not at a Lynyrd Skynyrd show likely aren't going to be voting Democratic even though they should.

    How about those who do it ironically?

    by amRadioHed on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:28:08 PM PDT

    •  I yell "Stairway To Free Bird!" n/t

      by Snud on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:32:52 PM PDT

  •  I yell "Freebird" at shows

    but do so ironically. I bet the guys in Skynard are voting Dem, as are Molly Hatchet, and the Allmann Brothers definitely. Maybe even Kid Rock. And Sheryl Crow certainly. I know my music, and I can say w/some certainty that very few of these classic rockers are voting Republican. Obviously the fans are different, but a little PR campaign might do the trick to win at least some over.

    It's a no-brainer.

    by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:30:16 PM PDT

  •  Yeah

    Tom Scholz from Boston actually asked Mike Huckabee to stop playing More Than a Feeling at his rallies because he was worried people might think it was an endorsement from the band. The story is here.

    by NoisyWithdrawal on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:33:05 PM PDT

•  You think that's bad?

  Ray Bradbury is a huge neocon.

  by Jaime Frontero on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:27:13 PM PDT

  •  How did that happen???

    Farenheit 451 is so not a neocon book.

    by amRadioHed on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:30:01 PM PDT

    •  I know.

      But maybe you can see it through the eyes of Douglas Spaulding.  Dandelion Wine.  That whole 'return to the golden age' bit.

      In any case, I was heartbroken when I found out...

      by Jaime Frontero on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:58:49 PM PDT

•  I listen to Led Zeppelin

  in between Otis Redding, Steve Earle and Thelonius Monk. Perhaps there ought to be a poll of "classic rock" fans that stopped listening to commercial radio after they got an iPod.

  by wmdrpa on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:27:39 PM PDT

  •  so do I and I think this poll is BS

    by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:31:38 PM PDT

•  I've read somewhere that Condi

  Rice is a big Zeppelin fan - and she's a classically-trained pianist.  Even a broken watch is right twice a day, and all that.

  I was thinking about a relatively recent interview with Robert Plant a year or two ago, when the Zep DVD video compilation came out with lots of old, classic footage of the band.

  The interviewer was showing Plant an early 70's era Led Zeppelin show and Plant said "We were shit-hot, weren't we?"

  I sure couldn't disagree. Nobody wanted to go onstage after Led Zeppelin in their prime.

  You might be surprised about Pete Townshend, though - just one example:

  http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

  I couldn't find the link but if I'm not mistaken Pete said in Rolling Stone not long ago that "George Bush is not a bad man".  I couldn't disagree more and I'm a huge Who fan.

  by Snud on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:31:55 PM PDT

  •  I can picture her being a fan of the

    "Hobbit" Zeppelin but not so much the "Whole Lotta Love" Zeppelin. There's a lot of so-called Zeppelin fans that won't go near Zeppelin I or II.

    by frankzappatista on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:05:12 PM PDT

    •  That would be too bad

      IMHO, Zeppelin I and II were there best stuff.

      by Snud on Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 05:55:00 AM PDT

•  Alice Cooper

  shudder..

  I see Obama as a World Music kind of guy..Peter Gabriel..I am sure he could write something really good or Paul Simon..for some strange reason there has been no anti war anthem for this war.

  by ohcanada on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:35:46 PM PDT

  •  Alice's first two records

    (Killer and Love It To Death) are, to my ears anyway, great glam-campy classics (it's all down hill from there) that, while not as monumental as other Detroit bands of the time (Iggy & the Stooges, MC5) are still surprisingly good (for what they are). But we're likely not going to agree, as I find Peter G and Paul S boring--sorry to say. But variety is the spice of life, as the saying goes.

    by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:52:44 PM PDT

    •  Stooges/MC5

      The surviving members of the MC5 are all still lefties.

      I have no idea what the Asheton brothers think, but the Ig is a lefty (son of school teachers)and replacement bassist Mike Watt is a hardcore liberal-to-Socialist (and a one time guest on my show).

      Mitch Ryder has done benefits for Debbie Stabenow, Michiganderly-speaking.

      Eminem, no idea. Kid Rock poses as a reactionary but I do believe he backed Dean in 2004.

      Nugent, is, of course, hopeless. But he's a carpetbagging policeman's son from Chicago anyway.

      by Johnny Wendell on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:00:48 PM PDT

      •  saw a great documentary on MC5

        recently: their mixture of leftwing politics and music was totally unique, and man the shit they went through in Detroit (before heading to Ann Arbor) during the riots of 1967, well it was some s-e-r-i-o-u-s stuff, bigtime. Try to watch it if you have not yet. It's great.

        by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:03:28 PM PDT

        •  "A Testimonial/The MC5"

          It's great.

          Wayne and the others hate it for some reason, even sued the film-maker. I thought it was amazing.

          by Johnny Wendell on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:06:03 PM PDT

  •  Under His Wheels?

    Alice is a born-againer from Phoenix, the son of a minister.

    He is also a wonderful man, a sweet guy and yes, a Republican.

    Happens occasionally.

    by Johnny Wendell on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:54:07 PM PDT

    •  love that song

      Also really like "Caught in a Dream" The first two LPs stand the test of time for me, but I think he blew his creative wad w/them (the rest of the records are mostly lame, "School's Out" being an exception maybe although I've not listened to it in years). I saw him live over 20 years ago now.

      Alice also plays a lot of golf, as does Iggy appearently.

      by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:58:28 PM PDT

  •  Obama likes Howling Wolf

    I saw one video where he was recommending "Wang Dang Doodle" to a person. Excellent taste. It's a great song and Howling Wolf is truly awesome (huge influence on Captain Beefheart, btw)

    by krnewman on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:56:26 PM PDT

    •  Howlin Wolf is the shit

      Hubert Sumlin, his guitarist, was so so great. Love Don van Vliet (Capt BH) very much.

      by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:59:20 PM PDT

      •  Sumlin Is, Not Was

        He is alive. Sumlin is 77.

        An enormous influence on guitarists from Steve Cropper to Johnny Thunders.

        Howlin' Wolf was hands down the greatest blues musician ever, period.

        Even if Willie Dixon wrote a lot of his stuff (which is to say, Willie stole a lot of those songs himself, supposedly).

        by Johnny Wendell on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:04:18 PM PDT

        •  over

          on this diary recently I got into a discussion about guitarists. I dislike the whole "greatest" thing when talking about music. I like that I don't have to choose. On the thread I linked to I listed some of the many blues guitarists I like, among them:

          --Muddy Waters
          --Albert King
          --Freddy King
          --Otis Rush
          --Buddy Guy
          --Albert Collins
          --Fenton Robinson
          --T Bone Walker
          --Johnny Copeland
          --Eddie Taylor
          --Stevie Ray Vaughan
          --Hound Dog Taylor
          --Charlie Patton
          --John Lee Hooker
          --Mississippi John Hurt
          --Son House
          --Robert Johnson
          --Lurrie Bell
          --Fred McDowell
          --Luther Allison
          --Big Bill Broonzy
          --Johnny Winter
          --Duane Allman
          --Eric Clapton
          --Elvin Bishop
          --Clarence Gatemouth Brown

          by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:12:26 PM PDT

          •  How about

            Michael Bloomfield?

            by NoisyWithdrawal on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:16:13 PM PDT

        •  What I like best about Sumlin's stuff

          is that he doesn't sound remotely like any other guitarist I've ever heard.  A good rock equivalent might be the late Robert Quine.  Sumlin's weird playing was a great complement for The Wolf's songs, which he like to keep structurally primitive(one or two chords)in order to keep his music connected to the early blues he grew up listening to.  

          by tosser on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:52:38 PM PDT

          •  "Killing Floor" Intro

            Those two chords, E7-D7 to the A in all of their glory, scratchy and raw, that is blues.

            Great version of that song sung by David Johansen with Sumlin accompanying him on that Scorsese set.

            by Johnny Wendell on Thu Apr 03, 2008 at 07:35:57 AM PDT

•  While teaching at a special project, I heard

  an impoverished youth with a criminal record explain why she would always support the Republicans:

  "Republicans are for guns, tobacco,and keeping your money." She then looked at me and tilted her head in a way that indicated her choice of political party was a foregone conclusion.

  I think there might be a "tough" factor in the Republican brand out there that appeals to some. . .rockers.

  by Ignacio Magaloni on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:36:31 PM PDT

•  UPDATE: just to clarify my take on the music

  and not the politics, I too like a lot of the "classic rock" bands of that era, but find the radio programming too often to be dull as paste (picking only the familiar songs, rarely playing any more obscure bands or songs, generally just being totally out of date, commercial filler nonstop) and like many people have eclectic tastes that are totally not fufilled, mostly, by that kind of radio formatting (the whole reason punk came about was b/c of that sameness).

  But yeah I love me some Stones, Beatles, Zep too. (did a diary on them here, and another one on brazilian music and jazz as well)

  by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:41:18 PM PDT

•  Coming Alive

  Peter Frampton is now an American citizen and is a Democrat.

  I heard him interviewed on "Jonesy's Jukebox", a midday radio show on 103.1 here in LA (I rarely listen to the station I work for, I don't like talk radio for entertainment).

  Peter lives in a development in suburban Cincinnati with his wife and says that he is the only liberal there (must be Mean Jean's district). He became a citizen and registered to vote for the first time in 2004, for John Kerry.

  Jonesy himself (Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols)is apolitical. He would appear to have forgiven Frampton for having the Pistols kicked off A&M in 1977 (Frampton was their biggest artist at the time and allegedly exerted some pressure to have them dropped).

  At any rate, he wants you to show him the way and feel like he does and vote Obama (or HRC).

  by Johnny Wendell on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:52:18 PM PDT

•  There is a distinction here

  Classic rock fan.
  Classic rock FM radio fan.

  Those who regularly listen to classic rock FM steadily are probably not fans of the music.

  Hearing the same songs replayed endlessly must cause hardening of the brain cells.

  by DennisMorrison on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 09:52:40 PM PDT

  •  I absolutely agree

    I listen to selected classic rock all the time, but the radio format is strictly for lowbrows, IMO.

    by candid psychiatrist on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:27:15 PM PDT

•  Grateful Dead did fundraiser for Obama

  The deadhead vote needs to be resurrected.

  by MakeChessNotWar on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:19:51 PM PDT

  •  never went away ;) n/t

    by Nellcote on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:30:41 PM PDT

    •  never faded away n/t

      by MakeChessNotWar on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:48:21 PM PDT

  •  Literally. n/t

    by bythesea on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:39:35 PM PDT

•  can't really say I am surprised

  50 to 60 year old white guys vote republican

  by radmul on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:31:18 PM PDT

  •  oh yeah?

    57 year old white guy.  I do NOT vote Republican.

    FWIW, I was at Woodstock.

    by N in Seattle on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 10:48:01 PM PDT

    •  you MUST watch the trailer

      to his film: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/...

      by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:14:02 PM PDT

•  just watched an interview

  w/Obama on youtube (from this Monday in PA and from NBC news I think) and at the end Ann Curry asks him all these inane questions like "prefer coffee or tea?" "White Sox or Cubs?" etc (God journalism is BAD nowadays!) and among them she asks "Beatles or Stones?" He answers Stones. For what it's worth. And it's worth really nothing after all, but it seemed to fit this thread's topic.

  by gnat on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:08:28 PM PDT

•  What about Prog Rock fans?

  I like to think the majority of us who like Genesis, Yes, ELP and their ilk are more progressive and liberal.

  by Purple Priestess on Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 11:14:30 PM PDT